City of Albany and New York: Albany, N.Y. hit with ransomware attack, mayor says

Albany, NY Hit by Ransomware Attack, Disrupting Municipal Services

The city of Albany, New York, fell victim to a ransomware attack last week, prompting officials to disclose limited details while assuring residents that most municipal services remain operational. Mayor Kathy Sheehan first acknowledged the incident in a Saturday tweet, stating that the city was assessing the extent of the compromise and would provide updates as they became available.

By Sunday, Sheehan confirmed that all city services except vital records (such as birth and death certificates) and marriage license applications would remain accessible. Municipal buildings reopened to the public at noon on Monday, with city employees reporting to work as usual. However, officials have not disclosed the ransom demand, the specific malware involved, or whether the attack has been fully contained.

Conflicting reports have emerged regarding the impact on the Albany Police Department. Gregory McGee, vice president of the Albany Police Officers Union, claimed in a Facebook post that officers lost access to email, shift scheduling systems, and in-car incident-reporting software, potentially delaying response times. City spokesman Brian Shea disputed these claims, asserting that police services were not disrupted.

Albany’s attack follows a growing trend of ransomware targeting local governments. Recent incidents include Jackson County, Georgia, which paid $400,000 to recover from a Ryuk malware attack, and Akron, Ohio, which battled Emotet a trojan often used to deploy Ryuk during a winter storm in January. While some municipalities, like Orange County, North Carolina, have recovered without paying ransoms, the financial and operational toll of such attacks continues to rise.

Source: https://statescoop.com/albany-n-y-hit-with-ransomware-attack-mayor-says/

City of Albany, New York cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/city-of-albany-new-york

"id": "CIT1781269040",
"linkid": "city-of-albany-new-york",
"type": "Ransomware",
"date": "4/2019",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization's existence"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Residents of Albany, NY',
                        'industry': 'Municipal Services',
                        'location': 'Albany, New York, USA',
                        'name': 'City of Albany, NY',
                        'type': 'Government'}],
 'customer_advisories': 'Residents advised that most services remain '
                        'operational except vital records and marriage license '
                        'applications',
 'description': 'The city of Albany, New York, fell victim to a ransomware '
                'attack last week, prompting officials to disclose limited '
                'details while assuring residents that most municipal services '
                'remain operational. The attack disrupted some services, '
                'including vital records and marriage license applications, '
                'but municipal buildings reopened with most services '
                'operational.',
 'impact': {'operational_impact': 'Disruption of municipal services, potential '
                                  'delays in police response times',
            'systems_affected': ['vital records (birth and death certificates)',
                                 'marriage license applications',
                                 'email (Albany Police Department)',
                                 'shift scheduling systems (Albany Police '
                                 'Department)',
                                 'in-car incident-reporting software (Albany '
                                 'Police Department)']},
 'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
 'references': [{'source': "Mayor Kathy Sheehan's Twitter"},
                {'source': 'Albany Police Officers Union Facebook post'},
                {'source': "City spokesman Brian Shea's statement"}],
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public updates via Twitter and '
                                        'official statements'},
 'title': 'Albany, NY Hit by Ransomware Attack, Disrupting Municipal Services',
 'type': 'Ransomware'}